Mediterranean Diet Can Help With Depression

The association between diet and risk of depression has been known for some time and now the latest research has found a healthy Mediterranean-style diet can reduce depressive symptoms, according to this article in SBS.

Director of Deakin’s Food and Mood Centre Professor Felice Jacka said the results of her team’s new study, published in international journal BMC Medicine, offers a potential new treatment approach to one of world’s leading cause of disability.

The participants, all with major depressive disorder, were randomly assigned to receive either social support, which is known to be helpful for people with depression, or support from a clinical dietitian, over a three-month period.

The dietary group increased their consumption of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, legumes, fish, lean red meats, olive oil and nuts — typical of a Mediterranean-style diet, while also reducing their consumption of unhealthy ‘extras’ such as sugary drinks, fast-food and cereals.

It found a third of the participants in the dietary support group met criteria for remission of major depression, compared to eight per cent of those in the social support group.

The study suggest the possibility of adding dieticians to mental health care teams and making dietitian support available to those experiencing depression.